“Preserving the past, STEAM SCENE enriching the future”

Newsletter of the Steam and Railway Preservation (Co-Op) Society Ltd. t/a Valley Heights Steam Tramway. Volume 10 Issue 4 Proudly associated with the NSW Rail Museum ( Blue Mountains Division). Affiliated with the Council of Tramway Museums of Australasia and August 2013 Rail Heritage Australia (NSW).

New Track Work for 100th Celebrations From the Over the last few months, the Valley Heights Congratulations to John Stanley, Ted Dickson and Editor Museum Perway gang have re-laid in the second Ash the team on a great job. With the Centenary Road to the Tram Shed. This has been a mammoth Another heavy track job now underway, is the of the official opening of the Round replaying of about 20 metres of the ‘arrival road’ house fast approaching, a lot of nearest the turntable. This road has seen gradual work remains at hand. Part of our deterioration over the last few years and although obligation is to ensure that we have this doesn't worry the feather weight tram it could a reliable tram service availaavailableble as cause problems for heavier engines of the class required. expected to grace the round-house’s centenary We are endeavoring to have the LFA next year. All of this road has been laid on timber car and the Stephenson loco avail- sleepers and the portion in question, covered in car and the Stephenson loco avail- concrete. This section of track will be fully torn-up able to coincide with the centenary and replaced with concrete sleepers, 107lb rail and celebrations. With the second bogey overhaul well underway and with the braking system yet to be fully checked out, the commissioning of this car of foreseeable. However, it is not just a simple matter of the car (Above) All but completed ash road project. Full- being made ready and away we go. ballasting remains to be done. (Below) Site of the re-lay There is a lot of paper--work involved of arrival road track. and a familiarization tool--box talk or two to be had before the car can be submitted to the regulator as being fit for service. Whilst the ‘technical’ work is well in hand, we could do with some assis- (Above) Site of the land-slip area to be walled. tance to help clean the car and Stepho in readiness for when they a mass concrete pour. This is a project that cannot do go into service. If you are avail- be achieved between running days so tram opera- able, just turn up on any Saturday tions have been suspended during the month of prior to a non--running day and you September to enable the work to be completed. will be made most welcome. The Another project underway, although not con- more help we can get, the better the nected with track work, is the installing of a new chance we will have of turning out retaining wall at the rear of the roundhouse. This something completely different for effort including the installation of points and provi- area was the subject a land slip some time ago. The our visitors. This is something we sion for a the future laying-in of a storage siding to work is being carried out by a private contractor on have needed and strived for a long the side of the shed. The track has been packed and behalf of Railcorp. time. is trafficable however full ballasting and tamping remains to be completed. See you soon, Bruce Irwin Churchill Memorial Trust Fellow (2012) Talks to Us Editor. At the invitation of the Society, Ken Kitchen This issue has been discussed on a couple of occa- (ITSR) visited us on Saturday 29th June 2013 to give sions in Steam Scene some years ago. The question a power-point presentation on his recent Churchill was also touched upon of just how practical is it to fellowship overseas study. The study was formally keep items for possible restoration when recourses “Oi—Have entitled:- "An investigation into a risk-based, lifecycle of time and money are so thin. you paid approach to the maintenance and management of rail your subs With a younger generation coming into play in the yet?” assets within the heritage rail industry". various rail museums locally, Kevin stressed the Kevin’s study took him to rail heritage museums in necessity of maintenance and management knowl- Japan, USA, France and the UK. edge being passed on in documented form to avoid All subscriptions w e r e it being either lost or distorted. Further, that this Both high and low profile museums were visited due to be paid by July 31. If you documentation should be shared between opera- to assess and report on the various techniques and have overlooked your remit- tors in a centralized pool eventually. The experience rationales employed for maintaining both opera- tance, could you get it in the mail of overseas operators could be invaluable because today? Members overdue after tional and non-operational heritage rolling stock. of the commonality of the material operated. Kevin the final date for payment lapse It was interesting to hear how the various opera- was happy to make contact names available in the into “inactive” status. tors juggled the old debate on ‘operation’ versus short term. ‘conservation’. Page 2 STEAM SCENE

Penny Fares and Linseed (Part 4) Having an operational lifetime of just short of 60 years, the Duck River/Redbank Tramway was the longest lived, purely steam tramway in Australia. Fortunately, the line was well photographed, particularly so as it was realized after 1937, following the demise of the Kogarah Sans Souci line, that it was now, the last of its kind. A lot of folk-lore has been written about the line and it is sometimes difficult to sort fact from romance. Any tale that appears slightly ‘suspect’ , I have tried to give authorship to so that readers may make the judgment.

Processed linseed product was taken back to the with council made worse by changes in the road levels wharf for lightering back from the original alignments. The company’s equipment down to Sydney. It should and method for repairing their responsible portion of be mentioned at this point, roadway, is related to us by the late Harold Matthews. that the goods were “The perway , compete with tar boiler and ashes, was entirely devoid of any hauled behind the car from the wharf depot and by means braking. Braking was in the of complicated juggling, was placed on the rear of the tram sole province of the motor after reversing at the Park Gates terminus. It was then and perhaps supplemented hauled to the point requiring repair where it was uncoupled by any trailer car’s hand- and abandoned with its gang, in mid-street by the tram. It brake that had been added was careful sprigged against run-away by means of a hand- to the consist. (Mixed ful of ashes under the wheels, fore and aft. While it cheer- were a regular fea- fully filled the neighborhood with fumes from the boiling tar. ture, in which case the consist of goods trucks The next tram from the wharf was eased up and the motor coupled to the per-way truck which was then pro- (Above) Four trucks of linseed was reduced to five.) pelled to the park gates terminus where it was again product move down George Multiple car picnic traffic was a weekend feature, the shunted as previously. From this point the procedure was Street destined for transfer to shunting of which at the O'Connell Street terminus, repeated again to another site until the days scheduled lighters at Redbank. (Photo; L. would have been a delight to see. The O’Connell Street repairs were done and the per-way truck and gang, re- Manny collection.) terminal loop only had room for one trailer car. If a turned to the wharf.” An old-timer of Parramatta Herb picnic tram had two or Nankivell tells us that many an aging George Street three cars, the run-round resident was brought out to the site of any repair and process involved much use held over the fuming tar pot to relieve lung congestion! of a tow-line. If picnic trams were in two divisions, the and Fatalities shunting maneuver was There are many ‘folk-loric’ tales that could be re-told much more complicated, here but space does not permit. I thought it better to involving the use of Meg- include material that has not in all likelihood, been told gitt’s sidings and more tow before. rope use. The first recorded for the tram was around Harold Mathews also October 5, 1883, when a Miss Risbey had a spark fly tells us about some further into her eye as she was alighting from the tram. It was idiosyncrasies of the ser- painful and caused some subsequent sight impairment. vice: Accidents involving horses, carts, animals and indeed “the 1045 a.m. trip from the Park Gates, was an institution. (Above) A picnic tram is about pedestrians, were frequent and indeed, too numerous At its arrival at the Church Street intersection, it was met by to leave the O'Connell St. ter- to recount here in this limited space. Several however, shop assistants from nearby delicatessens, all laden with minus in February 1941. do warrant recording. lunches etc. for the factories down Camellia way. All these (Photo; late L...Clark) packets and parcels were stowed on the front seat of the Sheep to the Slaughter trailer car. Setting off, the On May 3, 1923 at 6.45 in the evening, a tram proceed- tram occasionally stopped ing along George Street, ploughed into a flock of sheep along George street to allow being driven from Flemington to Hornsby. 30 sheep the conductor to alight and were killed and 5 injured. The tram may have had a make a purchase on some- headlight (kerosene) but doubtless nothing could be one’s behalf.” Harold also seen further than a few yards. relates that there was a Bus and Tram Accident daily goods tram sched- At 7.15 a.m. on Tuesday, 20th December 1927, Arthur uled to leave Meggitt’s Hyde was a goods tram to the wharf. As he around early afternoon. It approached the intersection of Church Street, he did not have a trailer car sounded his whistle. Suddenly, a bus owned by Harry attached. Even so, no one Howell appeared on his right and after swerving to the was left behind. Harold right, collided with the motor. The near side of the bus says he saw of several crashed into the front of the motor, forcing the latter occasions, this trip con- off the track. After travelling eight or nine feet, the veying women with babes motor came to a halt in a lather of steam. Of twenty (Above) Reproduction from a in arms on the motor. Other older children would be passengers travelling in the bus, four suffered minor newspaper photo of the colli- placed in one of the trucks together with any perambu- and were subsequently conveyed to Parramatta sion between Harry Howell’s lators. . Arthur Hyde maintained that he was travelling bus and the George St. tram. Line Maintenance slowly along the track at about ten or so miles-per- (Photo ex C.A. & FGA) Line, or at least road maintenance between the lines hour and sounded his whistle before negotiating the and adjacent to the line, was obliged on the company intersection. It was his opinion that the bus was travel- by the original legislation. It was a continuing argument ling too fast. W. Cornell, the driver of the bus, stated Volume 10 Issue 4 Page 3

that he heard no whistle and considered that he had At the subsequent coronial enquiry, it was suspected the right-of-way in any case. that hot fire irons had been placed against the motor’s wooden cabin and had caused the fire. Davidson’s If this was not enough, about ten minutes after the drinking habits accident, a horse drawing an ice cart shied at the way- were also que- ward motor and over-turned the cart! ried. A verdict of Boyish Pranks accidental cause was delivered by Whilst it may be thought from the above that George was perhaps a little heartless, he was indeed quite the the coroner. opposite. At one time, conductor Gabriel Dennis, was habits were all having trouble with kids jumping onto the tram and questioned in an after hitching a ride for some distance, jumping off. attempt to probe “Gabe” apparently carried a big stick and when the “probable cause”. kids boarded, he would chase them off, brandishing In the end, the the stick. “Gabe” evidently grew tired of this happen- Coroner stated ing to no avail and decided to inform the of that the fire had what the kids were up to. The plan was that the police been a curious would be in waiting to nab the boys the next day. occurrence but that it was probably accidental. (Note: (Above) A delightful shot of the George Rowe was aware of what was pending. When a similar event happened in 1909 and the fire put out Redbank terminus depicting the he came across some of the boys the day previous to before much damage was occasioned.) covered platform and walk-way the planned nabbing, he alerted them to the plan but that led to the passenger wharf. with a severe warning not to offend again. The boys Replacement of Motors Motor 31A is in the distance. evidently took heed and were not seen again on the Government steam tram motors progressively became (Photo, late C.B. Thomas) footboards. redundant over the years as electrification of some lines took place and A one-time local resident, Jack Gillham, relates that other lines and he and some mates also frequently scaled the trams as systems closed. boys in the late 1930’s. On one occasion he scaled a With the closure of tramway truck only to find the conductor, “Old Red the last government Face” (Gabe Dennis) lying flat in the truck waiting for line (Kogarah-Sans them. Jack’s knuckles, clutching to the edge of the Souci) in 1937, a truck, were struck by a cane the conductor was carry- further batch of ing, breaking a little finger. Their enthusiasm for such motors became pranks, diminished thereafter. Jack’s bent finger today redundant. This (2002) is a constant reminder of the event. coincided quite well The Butchers’ Picnic with the needs of S.F. Ltd. with several Picnic and race traffic were about the only times the of their motors (i.e. trams had crush loads. Harold Rowe relates that his Nos 2, 3 and 5 father, George Rowe, once drove a tram bringing suffering with the blights of “old age”, although No. 6 home a crowd from a butchers’ picnic. The picnickers (Above) A well patronized tram, was still sound enough to continue in service. had been away all day at Clifton Gardens. The ferry probably a picnic special, is about had brought them back to Redbank and the merry Sydney Ferries purchased government motors Nos, to leave the Redbank terminal for crowd, including quite a few imbibers, embarked the 5A, 31A and 103A. These were transferred to the Parramatta. Motor 103A leads three-car tram. Some thought it would be a great private tramway dur- prank to disconnect the last trailer car when the tram ing August 1937 thus came to the compulsory stop at Camellia. George giving the tramway, so Rowe was “in the know” of what was to happen. The far as motive power trailer car was duly unhitched and the balance of the was concerned, a new tram took off toward Parramatta. Midst much laughter lease on life. Their it was expected that on discovery of the “missing car” Government numbers the driver would stop the tram, reverse and reconnect were retained. the third car. Much to the dismay of the stationary passengers, the tram disappeared into the night leaving Fatalities them stranded! George Rowe returned next morning For many years a to propel the forlorn tramcar back to Redbank - all myth existed that the the passengers had by then found their own ways Redbank line never home. The joke was on them. had a fatality. Local historian, the late An Engine Up in Smoke Harold Matthews, had Having stabled his motor (No.4) for the night on Fri- spoken to the long serving tramway conductor Gabe day, September 24, 1920, driver, Alexander Davidson Dennis on many occasions, re happenings on the line (Above) A motor being trans- met a fried and proceeded to have a few drinks. Some- and it would appear that Gabe made no mention of ferred to the Sydney Ferries line time later, going along George Street he met a wood- the fatalities. This was despite the fact that he was the in 1937 carter who informed him that a fire had broken out in conductor of the tram involved in the latter two fatali- the engine shed. Davidson quickly made his way there ties. Gabe himself, lost a child to fatality on the Hills and got a hose into play on a fire that was consuming line in 1911. In the next issue a short account of each the cab of the motor. A nearby tramcar had also of the three fatalities on the Redbank line is related. caught fire. Fortunately a fire engine arrived on the scene and the fires were quickly doused, almost drowning Davidson in the process! Page 4 Steam Scene

Whistles from the Past (Part 5) • Out-of-town to Penrith Our eighth excursion saw the society making another Saturday afternoon excursion into the suburbs. In 1960, Penrith was not so much like a suburb of Sydney as a semi-rural area with an increasing population.

As it was to turn The required correspondence was sent to the Rail- out, 1960 proved way Department and the response was positive. to be a busy year However, a small amount of money was required to for our society carry out needed repairs on the engine. They were organising four willing to expend this amount providing we would excursions in total. guarantee to use the engine again in the next few In keeping to our months on a further excursion. We agreed to their original aims and request and the required repairs were undertaken at objectives of af- Enfield Locomotive Depot enabling the engine to haul fordable excur- our train to Penrith. sions, a destination in the outer subur- Departing on time from number one platform at ban area was de- Central Station, the old locomotive, under the con- cided upon and trol of driver Fred Stell soon proved to be capable of took place on t h a fair turn of speed. Stopping at Parramatta for loco- Saturday, 12 motive purposes, Fred detected a warm axle-box on March, 1960. The the tender, which he kept his professional eye on for (Above) 1709 being given a touch destination selected on this occasion was Penrith. the remainder of the journey. of the oil-pot at Parramatta, The locomotive chosen to haul our train was the last remaining serviceable H-class locomotive, 1709. Again set 33B was to Leaving Parramatta, the train rattled passed the be our accom- society’s steam tramway site in Parramatta Park. Our modation. excursion continued at a steady speed, in particular At this time when climbing the Pendle Hill bank then slowing for only two mem- the level crossing gates at Seven Hills. A quick pace bers of this in the section between Blacktown and St. Marys ac- class remained counted for an on time arrival at Penrith. The engine ( on the books, was uncoupled from the carriages and then pro- 1703 stored in ceeded to what was left of the locomotive facilities derelict condi- for turning and servicing. tion on the Enfield storage bank, along The society’s officers, including the late Mal Baker and with 1709. The Lew Berrick, carefully supervised these movements to latter had been ensure safety first for our patrons. A stay at Penrith sent to Enfield for over an hour saw numerous photographs taken from its coun- from all angles of our train stabled in the back plat- try location to form. be stored and (Above) Former society member Bruce MacDonald stands to the RHS of the cab. Who is the dust- eventually scrapped. Departing Penrith, the train climbed the Kingswood bank with a good beat being emitted from the funnel coated gent on the extreme LHS? The Vulcan Foundry in the U.K. had constructed a of 1709. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that total of 12 this engine was to be kept in running condition for as examples of long as possible. We had steady running back to this class in Parramatta where water was again taken. From here, 1887 and then it was on into Central Station where an almost on shipped them time arrival was achieved. to Sydney for the In accordance with our agreement, this engine was N.S.W.G.R. utilized again by our society at the end of the year for They had a further excursion. A small profit from this tour was been used on used to boost our very limited funds. all aspects of work but (Next issue; A Three day trip to Mudgee via Werris were and Creek) remained unpopular

with engine- men until (Above) Cameras go a-clicking as 1709 is more modern classes of engines re- prepared for a twirl on the Penrith turntable. placed them when withdrawals com- What was that about ‘track safety awareness’ ? menced. Volume 10 Issue 4 Page 5

Those Parramatta Park Days - The Fact and the Fiction and Today’s Market Truth

Quite frequently, when senior members get talking activities taking place in the Park including a dawn and reminiscing about the ‘good old days’ in Par- ascent by six or more balloons. This also entailed an ramatta Park, the subject quite often steers to the early start for tram crews to cash in on the gap be- number of visitors we used to get there. Yes, at Valley tween the ascent and the commencement of later Heights, after we got started in 2002, we had high activities in the Park. hopes that our numbers would increase by 10% a year. Our biggest passenger carrying day though was for Sadly, that percentage has not materialized for various the ABC’s 60th reasons, covered elsewhere. birthday celebration We all seem to remember those halcyon days like in 1993. On this day the ABC’s 60th birthday celebration and the Australia we carried 6 short Day celebrations in the Park, when we would carry of 3,000 passengers. literally thousands or at least, many hundreds on the It is interesting to day. plot the ratio of Sometimes I think we can look at the past through children to adults rose-coloured glasses so I thought I would trawl during the Par- through the old Annual Reports and other records to ramatta years. Child dredge up what exactly our figures were back in those fares (and the least days and try to make a comparison. What revenue did remunerative) out- we make out of it back then and are we relatively, stripped adult fares (Above) Who could ever forget anymore the poorer now? (average around 60-40) up until around 1989 when the ABC’s 60th birthday in the the ratio started to swing in favour of adults. That Our first year of regular public operation was Park? ratio has continued ever since. I remember in the 1964/65. The third Sunday of every month was the early days that parents put ‘the kids on for a ride’ and usual steaming day. That first year, we carried a total then stood back and waited for it to be over. The of 3,210 passengers. Between 1965 and 1974/75, num- tram ride was seen as bers generally climbed upwards reaching 8,591 in an amusement for kids 1972/73. 1974/75 saw numbers jump to over 12,000. not a heritage experi- To begin with, we only had a “C” class trailer to oper- ence for adults. Today, ate. This had a carrying capacity of a couple of dozen. kids are well and truly With the introduction of a 70-seater trailer, 74B on the minority passen- July 2, 1967, this lifted our passenger capacity mark- gers carried. The edly, more than doubling it. under 5’s are still From 1980, numbers tumbled back to 6,241 and there (the “Thomas’ generally bumped along between that figure and 7,862 generation) but the 8- in 1985/86. The worse year on record since commenc- 14 year olds seem to ing public operations occurred during 1988/89 when be the missing bracket. only 3,199 passengers were carried. Ups and downs Heritage is something over the years were attributable to such things as runs they just don't seem of inclement weather, park entrance fees, petrol ra- to be interested in. (Above) An average day at Val- tioning and months when track sections were closed So what do we make of the figures in the table? The ley Heights. There are a cosy for upgrading. A gradual increase occurred in numbers first obvious conclusion is that in the Parramatta days, few on board but it is far from a over succeeding years. Our biggest passenger carrying we were carrying far greater numbers. The second crush load. days were for Australia Day when numbers were close conclusion and perhaps the most important was that to or over 1,000. The day was enhanced with many we were loath to keep pace with inflation. I well re- member as a board member Passenger Revenue Av. Fare Year Value Today Remarks during the 70’s, when inflation Nos Then Today Values was rampant, how painful it was 1964/65 3,210 206.35 2,529.99 .79 to get a small increase in fares onto the books. It was thought 1968/69 5,154 351.96 3,830.11 .74 that we would price ourselves out of the market place. With 1970/71 8,350 589.00 5,887.12 .71 hindsight, too often we equated 1975/76 12,716 2,031.95 11,751.44 .92 ourselves as being just another form of public transport and not

1985/86 7,882 6,254.80 15,215.87 1.93 as a heritage experience that was 1991/92 8,815 14,128.15 24,215.35 2.75 unique and not renewable. Con- versely, mobile heritage had yet 1992/93 9,355 16,206.30 27,268.98 Last year of 2.91 to come into its own. Few peo- operation in ple (other than those at the time P’matta. who would probably have been 2004/05 998 3,074.08 3,809.66 Valley Hgts 3.82 termed ‘eccentrics’) thought of Stepho & heritage beyond a ‘bricks and trikes only mortar concept.’ The tram was just another ‘ride’ to put the kids Valley Hgts 2010/11 2,508 7,641.99 7,992.43 3.19 on for a treat. (To page 6) 2011/12 2,442 8,224.10 8,384.11 Valley Hgts 3.43

Works Report: 1022: Smoke box riveting removed. (Preparatory for boiler work “Preserving the past, assessment) 103A: Steam valve re-seated. Renewed cylinder packing. LFA179: Further enriching the future” No.2 bogey cleaning. One axle box seal replaced. DD99: Roof boards cut to size and primed. Progressive installation. Stepho: Further boiler tubes replaced. S4360: Further painting of body. 1308: Boiler painted. Further parts taken off site for re-conditioning. 72B: Steam Tram & Railway Preservation (Co-Op) Temporary strengthening for re-siting. Misc. Tram wheel pattern made. Society Ltd. t/a Valley Heights Steam Tramway (Cont. from page 5) Towards the latter years of our operation in Parramatta, with administra- ABN 46 193 707 109 tive change, internally and public attitude abroad to what we were doing, incremental adjust- P.O. Box 571, Springwood NSW 2777 ments were made without having to make a radical increase out of desperation.. Web site:www.infobluemountains.net.au/ Whilst we may have made more money in Parramatta, it had to go a lot further. Maintenance Chairman and Works Manager, and improvement of very poor base infrastructure such as trackwork, accommodation and Craig Connelly rolling stock restoration, gobbled up the money. 02 9729 3536 Secretary and P.E.O. Peter Stock So what of our situation today. At Valley Heights, we are having a very good day if we see (02) 9587 9051 100 customers come through the gate. Most often however, it is far fewer, yet we survive. Treasurer and Editor “Steam Scene” What do we learn from all of this? Yes there are comparative factors that aren’t included Bruce Irwin e.g. relative running distance, number of days operated, expenses per kilometer etc. But just (02) 9651 1707 Email: [email protected] taking a simplistic approach the most obvious lesson to be learnt is that is that we must at Membership Secretary, David Lewis least, keep pace with inflation however reluctant we might be. This is something we obviously (02) 9630 6304 did not do in Parramatta Park, certainly up until the 1980’s.

The museum is located in Tusculum Road, Another important factor is, you must know what your running costs are and carefully monitor these in relation to revenue. We didn't do this particularly well at Parramatta, so Valley Heights. Ample parking is available. A much so that I remember a past treasurer declaring at an annual meeting ‘we made an overall train service is available to Valley Heights. Walk profit of 16 cents this year—well that was better than what the railways did.” If worrying trends around over the traffic bridge to the signal box are developing, they need to be addressed as soon as possible, not given the “something will gate. (visible from the platform) Trams arrive approximately every 20 mins. Note: no disabled turn up” treatment and left until a situation becomes desperate. access at this point yet. It need not be all gloom and foreboding when the time comes to increasing prices of rides/admission. If people can leave, feeling they have gotten value for money, then you have achieved something. Value adding their experience by relatively inexpensive ‘add-ons’ is the The museum is open way to go. The art gallery, the expanding small exhibits displays, the proposed theatrette are between 10 and 4 on the all means of value adding and giving that essential feeling to customers, that they have spent 2nd and 4th Sundays of their money well and received value. The comments in the Visitors Book that the Museum the month. Steam and Tramway presently receive are 99.9% positive. operations on both days. The days of carrying up to 1,000 passengers a day are well and truly over. Perhaps with hindsight, we could have taken better advantage of them when they were around. The fact is today, we have to manage more astutely what is available in a shrinking market. We must In Memoriam always be constantly on the alert for new opportunities and be ready to take advantage of Recalling in fond them. To continue on with the ‘same old, same old’ would be fatal. memory, the passing Using last year’s (2011/12) figures, our average fare receipt was $3.43 (inflation adjusted). of John (Jack) Our fare structure nowadays is quite different to what it was at Parramatta Park. A journey Horace Midgley, fare now ranges from 5.50 for an adult, 4.50 for a senior to 3.50 for a child. These days, we August 20, 1986, for- also have an ‘unlimited rides’ component. If we take into account our proportion of the ‘gate mer society Works share’ receipts, the average customer payments works out at 4.90 including the complemen- Manager. A tower of tary rides. For a heritage ride of 2 kms, this is probably not a bad return, depending on the strength when it was passenger numbers of course. Even so, it would be easy to fall behind general price move- needed most. ments because times are a little tough. Really though, I have never heard anyone say during R.I.P our history that economic times are good. Its all a matter of perspective and priority. If you want something badly enough, you will buy it and that goes for heritage tram/train rides. Our job is to make sure that people feel they really need to experience what we have to give and Last but not least….. hang the expense.

Personal OTHER NEWS IN BRIEF If you have timber to place on The days of amateurs the heap, please take care to try Had a visit on July 6 from member playing trains and trams Wood-heap Woes and have it facing in one general Paul DeVries. Because of his on an occasional Sunday We have been notified by Mu- direction and not strewn all over employment and country residence, afternoon are well and seum management about the we don't see much of Paul so his the place. truly gone. We are now an organi- unsatisfactory state of the visit was all the more a delight. Paul Everyone is trying to improve zation fully committed and dedi- woodheap. The matter will be lent a welcome hand on the DD99 the public appearance of the cated to the principles of regulated raised at the next Joint Commit- project. On condolences to his wife museum during this Centenary safe and proper operation. Every tee meeting. In the interim, Janet, on the recent passing of her year and this is one area that individual RSW needs to be fully members and friends please committed to the principles entailed mother could see improvement. note that only practical timber and to keep abreast of his obliga- ooo0ooo for firebox use is to be placed ooo0ooo tions under the Act and Regula- on the heap e.g. hardwood pal- Another recent member visitor was tions. New Operating Rules will ings, rails etc. Particle board and New Member Peter Goodman. Good to see shortly be issued and you are urged general rubbish is not helpful A warm welcome is extended to you and catch-up Peter. Hope you to become fully conversant with the and generally adds to an air of our latest member, Keith were pleased with the progress you changes that have been made. untidiness in an area near public Wade. Pleased to have you on saw. access and view. board Keith. P.Stock. Operations Manager